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Forest Health Highlights - 2001

Georgia

The Georgia Forestry Commission provides forest health protection assistance to state and private land managers throughout the State.  This program is funded cooperatively by the State and the USDA Forest Service Forest Health Protection unit.

• Nearly 2/3 of the state of Georgia is forested (more than 24.1 million acres).

• Over 90% of forested acreage in Georgia is privately owned.  

• The Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests (751,800 acres) provide wildlife, recreational benefits, forest products and jobs for thousands of Georgians.

• Southern pine beetle (SPB) is Georgia’s most important forest insect pest. In 1995, a significant outbreak affected a large part of the state.  Populations have declined since then. In 2000, beetle populations increased in area north of Atlanta; in 2001 a total of 4,863 spots were reported, with 28 counties in outbreak status. The outlook for 2002 is for continued high levels of SPB activity especially in the mountains and Piedmont.

• Heightened black turpentine beetle activity was reported in 2001, especially in thinned pine plantations. Drought, soil compaction and logging injuries all contribute to risks of this bark beetle’s attack.

• The gypsy moth, a serious pest of hardwood forests, threatens Georgia from the north. Using a statewide network of traps, the Georgia Forestry Commission and USDA Forest Service cooperate to monitor for any accidental introductions of the gypsy moth. In 1999, there was a gypsy moth eradication project in Rabun County carried out on the Chattahoochee National Forest. Over 2,350 acres were treated in conjunction with treatment across the border in North Carolina. No new infestations were discovered in 2000 or 2001.

• In 2000 and 2001, Georgia experienced a severe drought statewide. Landowners suffered severe losses of planted southern yellow pine seedlings in both years, and seedling nurseries experienced plummeting sales.

• The Georgia Forestry Commission in cooperation with USDA Forest Service Research and Forest Health Protection has participated in the Forest Health Monitoring Program.  This program is designed to annually collect, analyze, interpret and report on the conditions of the forests in Georgia.  This is accomplished through a network of over 200 detection plots. 

• Diseases also threaten Georgia’s forests.  Two of the most important are fusiform rust and annosum root disease of pines.  Fusiform rust has infected 4.6 million acres of pine stands. The high incidence of root disease is linked to land managers’ reluctance to apply preventive Sporax® treatments.

• Dogwood anthracnose is a disease that occurs at higher elevations and in cool moist areas.  This disease was initially found in Georgia in 1987.  It is now known to be present and causing significant mortality to the native dogwoods in 38 counties, primarily in the northern part of the state.

 The Georgia Forestry Commission and USDA Forest Service

In spite of the relatively good health of Georgia’s forests, a variety of insects and diseases (both native and introduced), and human-caused impacts such as air pollution, continue to threaten the State’s resources.  To deal with this constantly changing mix of challenges, the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Forest Health Protection unit of the USDA Forest Service cooperate to prevent, detect, suppress, and manage this multitude of threats.  The partnership between the two agencies has worked for three decades to maintain and improve the health of Georgia’s forests. 

For additional information, contact:

Phone: (912) 751-3497
E-mail: tprice@gfc.state.ga.us
Internet: http://www.gfc.state.ga.us/Management/pestmgt.cfm

or

USDA Forest Service
Forest Health Protection
P.O. Box 2680
Asheville, NC 28802-2680

Phone: (828) 257-4320
E-mail: creynolds02@fs.fed.us
Internet: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth